The Broken Water Pump/Transcript

The complete transcript for The Broken Water Pump

Intro
''{"The Red Green Show" intro plays. After introducing the characters, there are clips of the show, followed by an image of a bird flying through the sky at sunset, amid various gunshot sounds.}''

''{The camera pans through a cluttered hallway inside the Lodge, on its way to the main lobby. During this time, Harold is heard introducing the show.}''

HAROLD GREEN: And now, it's time for a totally different show! A show based on the assumption that no matter who you are or how busy you are, you have at least one half-hour to waste, and, well, here's a man who's wasted at least half a century, my uncle, {under his breath} which is obviously the downside of working with a severely limited gene pool. {normal voice} But he's more than a woodsman, he's a coulds-man, and, in most cases, a shoulds-man. {laughs} Anyway, here he is, the star of "The Red Green Show", Mr. Red Green!

''{By now, the camera has reached the lobby. Red enters through the front door, waving to the audience, who applauds.}''

RED GREEN: Thank you, Harold. Thank you, and, uh, welcome to Possum Lodge. {gestures toward Harold} You've already met my nephew, Harold, who's my brother's only child, which is certainly understandable.

HAROLD GREEN: I got a neat one here for you, Uncle Red! Look at this one.

''{Harold plays his switcher. The camera zooms in on his face, the screen changes color slightly and the scene is rolled up for a second. The camera then zooms back out. Harold giggles.}''

RED GREEN: Harold is responsible for the look of the show, so don't come complaining to me. But we got a fun show for you this week, although I must say I did start today with a rude awakening, which, uh, sounded actually like Stinky Peterson. But, uh, then when I got up and I washed my face, I noticed there was no towel, then I noticed that my face wasn't wet, then I noticed there was no water. And so I figure either the water pump is broken again, or Possum Lake evaporated.

HAROLD GREEN: Uncle Red... has anybody told Helmut?

RED GREEN: {to Harold} Well, I don't think that's necessary, Harold, because, uh, all you gotta do is be chewing on a cup of coffee, and you realize we're out of water. {back to camera} So the bunch of us were sitting around, chewing on cups of coffee, and Old Man Sedgewick was, of course, sucking on a teabag, and, uh, he was reminiscing about the good old days at the lodge, you know, before they had any of the modern amenities, y'know, like a roof. He said back then what they'd do to make coffee is go out and gather up all the condensation of the grass, or as he put it, they made dew (parody of "do"). So we nailed him right on the scawn with a waffle iron for that one.

HAROLD GREEN: Well, don't you think he's got a point, though?

RED GREEN: Well, he certainly does now, Harold. {gestures to his head} He's got about 36 little ones right up in here. But, okay, I guess we probably did appreciate things more, y'know, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

HAROLD GREEN: Did they even have, like, outhouses back then?

RED GREEN: {to Harold} Yeah, they did, but there was no hole in 'em. {back to camera} Anyway, y'know, once you get used to the modern things, like a water pump or a sweeping compound, it is very difficult to go back.

HAROLD GREEN: Well, I'm here to say that we're not going back, we're going forward, because progress may be destructive and inhumane, but technology sure is neat, eh? {plays his switcher to trigger the next scene}

RED GREEN: Well, unless it's a water pump.

In the Lodge
''{Harold sits down at a card table. Helmut, meanwhile, is sitting on a couch, fixing a pump with Bill, who is standing behind the couch, holding the pump tube.}''

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: Okay, I got this washer (?). We should be hearing– Bill, any blockage? {Bill taps the tube} Okay, what do you say you blow in that, and I'll see if the back pressure valve closes? {Bill inhales and blows through the tube real hard, while Helmut examines the valve} Okay, keep blowing.

''{Bill keeps blowing. Douglas enters the lodge and walks up to Helmut and Bill.}''

DOUGLAS HENDRYCHUCK: Helmut, I've just turned on the sink and all I got was this gurgling noise like Stinky makes, but no water came out. Is there anywhere in this lodge I can wash my hands? {sighs, looks away} What am I asking you for?

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: You'll find Possum Lake at the other end of that dock. Or you can wait until I'm done fixing this pump.

DOUGLAS HENDRYCHUCK: I'll use the lake. And please, make me a list of everything that you touch, especially food. {leaves the lodge through another door, past Harold}

HAROLD GREEN: Helmut? Helmut, have you ever noticed that we seem to be having an inordinate amount of breakdowns? You know, like pipes and pumps and stoves and door... You know... Well, my TV equipment, it's a lot more complicated and it hardly ever needs servicing. You know, you know? Why do you think it is the infrastructure of this lodge is constantly in need of repair? Why do you think that is?

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: Harold, this place is a dump filled with crap.

HAROLD GREEN: {nods} Okay, all righty. {giggles} So what's the problem with the pump there, uh, Helmut? You know, other than its crappiness?

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: It's probably either a seized bearing on the (?) shaft or the back pressure valve spring is fatigued.

HAROLD GREEN: {nods} So Mr. Pump's not feeling too well. {seeing Bill still trying vainly to blow in the pump} And neither is Bill.

''{Another door in the lodge opens and Murry and Dwayne enter. Dwayne holds a bucket.}''

MURRAY WOOLWORTH: {chuckles} Well, so you're working on your water pump there, huh?

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: {to Murray} No. {to Harold} Harold, you wanna go scare me up some tin snips and about seven feet of shoe leather?

HAROLD GREEN: All righty. {gets up from table} Is it okay if I get the seven feet of shoe leather from about seven different pairs of shoes? {pause; nods} Okay. {leaves}

MURRAY WOOLWORTH: Well! Glad to see your water pump's working fine. Delighted, really, because, y'know, we just dropped by to get ourselves {gestures toward bucket Dwayne holds} a pail of fresh, cold water. Now, where would we find your nearest, uh...

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: Okay, Murray, all right, all right, the pump is broken.

MURRAY WOOLWORTH: Awww!

DWAYNE: The question was, where's the tap? Don't you listen, Helmut?

HELMUT WINTERGARDEN: {getting up} Dwayne, the pump is broken! That means there is no water coming out of the taps, which means you don't need to know where the taps are!

DWAYNE: Exactly! {to Murray} Told ya.

{Helmut sits back down.}

Red's Campfire Song
{Red plays guitar while Harold lightly and quickly taps a plastic gas can.}

RED GREEN:
 * A friend had a sliver in the back of his arm.
 * It was big and huge and looked like it could cause him a great deal of discomfort some future time.
 * So I took my needle and vice grips and a bottle opener,
 * And proceeded to remove the sliver with the occasional break for refreshments.
 * Well, I dug away at it for an hour or two.
 * Can you imagine my embarrassment when my friend pointed out that it was actually a tattoo?

''{Red stops playing the guitar while Harold continues to tap the gas can. Red looks at Harold.}''

RED GREEN: Put it down. {Harold puts can down}

The Harder the Fall
''{Red is buried under a pile of leaves in the autumn, with only his head and hands sticking out. He reads from a book.}''

RED GREEN: It is autumn. Hunting season opens today. Some say hunting isn't a sport. We have guns, the animals have nothing. But we know how to even up the odds. We give ourselves a handicap. It's called beer.